Reptile Morning

The ranger at Cromwell Valley Park prepared a toddler/mom program for my mom's group this morning.  The longer-than-my-normal driving distance, foggy morning, and threat of severe thunderstorms all made me want to stay put for the morning, but I put on my rain boots and made the trek north on the beltway.  I am so glad I changed my mind!

We, five moms and eight kids, had the nature center to ourselves.  The ranger planned a great presentation for our toddler aged children.  I appreciate when the presenter knows his/her audience and keeps it simple yet entertaining for squirmy two-year-olds.

First, she introduced us to all the reptiles & amphibians in the room.  There were two toads, two turtles, and a snake, all indigenous to Maryland.  Braylen joined the outgoing boys and touched a few of the creatures.  Evie, although curious, didn't want those things anywhere near her.  In fact, she started screaming bloody murder when the turtle sprinted (in her mind) towards her.  Luckily the turtle incident did not ruin the rest of our morning.  The other highlight of this session was the ranger nonchalantly talking about the snake as its head wiggled rather close to my friend, Laura's face.  The expression on her face was priceless.  I tried my best to not impress my fear of snakes onto my children.  I'm pretty sure Evie could still feel my nervous vibe when that snake was out of his sealed cage.

Braylen took a liking to "Picasso", the swimming turtle.
You can see the fear and anxiety Evie felt as Braylen touched
the turtle's tank

Next, the ranger had a simple turtle craft for the toddlers.

Evie painted the turtle's shell

Then she put glue on the turtle's arms
and legs.  Mommy attached them

Lastly, we had free time to explore the discovery room.

A fragile birds nest?  Braylen decided to put his fingers
right into that mess.

Making friends with the opossum stuffed animal.
Notice the stuffed dead beaver in the background.  That
was his first friend upon arrival.  "I ain't deef sonny!"

I know my sister is laughing and my mother.  In case you don't understand the reference-

Lady and The Tramp
Evie (and Parker) like to watch this movie together.

Back to the Cromwell Valley-

Braylen thought the moose head on a stick could
be doubled as a mop...

... and a puppet

While Braylen mopped the floor played with the animals, Evie made her way back into the front room to look at all the turtles and toads again.

She quietly watched the animals

Braylen needed to see his turtle friends one more time before we left

The mom's group has already been invited back for another free program in May.  The grounds were a muddy, snowy mess on this visit.  Hopefully by May we will be outside tromping through the children's garden.